Geisha in Gion District of Kyoto

AMaji

Active Member
We were among the hundreds of tourists trying to photograph geishas as they walked to the various tea houses in the Gion District of Kyoto. It was dark and the street lights were the only hope as flash photography was not allowed. Add that to the hundreds of tourists jostling around, and it made a very challenging photo shoot indeed.

Here is an image of Geisha Sayaka.
Kyoto Gion Maikosan Sayaka of Tsurui _DSC2526 by _Maji_, on Flickr

Here is an image of Geishas Chiyoko and Mikako. Mikako in green recently was promoted to a Geisha from a Maiko. She now wears the white collar with her kimono and does not wear any hair ornaments. I saw a documentary on NHK where her graduation ceremony was mentioned and what it involved. The green kimono she is wearing was mentioned in the documentary and how much effort a local artisan took to create that piece of art she is wearing. I really felt honored to see that kimono being worn.
Gion Two Geishasans Chiyoko and Mikako _DSC2624 by _Maji_, on Flickr
 

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Very nice work here Maji! It sounds like a fantastic opportunity, but one that made for some difficult shooting. You did really nice with both of these, and I have never seen a Geisha in person, so it's rather fascinating to see these photos of them in real life.
 

Kyle Jones

Moderator
Very interesting, I'm glad you added the extra details to your post. I particularly like the first although I'd probably crop out that partial street sign on the left to preserve the atmosphere of the scene.
 

AMaji

Active Member
Thank you everyone for your kind words... and thanks to Jim for choosing my post as the daily feature. Very much appreciated.
 
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